


rock and roll will never die

by storiesfortravellers



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/M, Journalism, M/M, Rock Stars, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 18:38:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9671126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfortravellers/pseuds/storiesfortravellers
Summary: AU where the Legends of Tomorrow are a rock band that gets into trouble everywhere they go.





	

They say rock is dead. 

They say it’s been sanitized, over-hyped, watered-down into a commercialized, pre-packaged, focused-group imitation of what it used to be.

But this journalist just spent the weekend with the band Legends of Tomorrow. And I can tell you one thing, the spirit of rock and roll – and all the sweet, dangerous chaos that comes with it – is alive and well.

\--

Rip Hunter, the band’s manager, welcomed me on to the tour bus, which the band lovingly calls the “Waverider.” I asked what this name referred to - if it’s some reference to the drugs or sex that takes place on the road, but they wouldn’t answer. Rip seems like all business when you meet him, crisp British accent reminding you of all the rules you agreed to – no photos without asking, no photos of anyone drunk regardless, no snooping around, no blabbing about certain activities. Rip’s the one that gets everyone to the gigs on time, that deals with all the PR crises when Rory lights a hotel room on fire again, that deals with the business side of things so the artists can be artists. He’s so efficient that it’s easy to forget that he started in this business 20 years ago as part of a punk band called “Fuckyou Youfuckers.” 

Easy to forget until you see a venue owner try to screw the band out of their cut and Rip starts knifing the giant speakers until they pay up. At that point, you just kind of stare in shock. 

The band stares too. Well, Ray and Martin and Amaya and Jax stare. Sara just kind of smirks a little, Mick grunts approvingly, and Len, as always, just looks bored.

Speaking of… I know the fans all want to know – are Len and Sara a thing? And of course, some fans want to know if Len and Mick are a thing. And some want to know if Mick and Ray are a thing. The truth is, I didn’t personally witness anything, but nothing would surprise me. They look nice in pictures, but in person, they are a very, very attractive group. I wouldn’t kick any of them out of bed, to be honest.

Other highlights included getting to watch some of the best concerts I’ve ever seen – and, even, more amazing, getting to watch the late-night jam session after one of their concerts, where they all just started improv-ing at some old bar in Central City that Len and Mick used to hang out at. Mick was hitting the drums, Jax was on rhythm guitar, and Martin was on keyboard. Len, of course, played bass, and did a long bass solo where he and the drums went back and forth like they had been playing together forever. Amaya and Ray came in with vocals, and it was beautiful, almost folksy, like this ethereal magic spoken word poetry slowly transitioning into a soulful refrain with a metal edge. Then Sara did her guitar solo, fingers flying like ninja stars, and it pretty much melted the house down. Fucking incredible, I’m telling you. One of the most moving experiences of my life, no lie.

Of course, after, Sara got into a bar fight, Rory broke three windows, and Len almost got us all killed by mocking the fashion choices of a biker gang. And then later, Len had a bunch of motorcycle parts spread all over the table somehow. 

At least this time, the bar was in one piece when we left. That’s not always the case. The bar in Starling City was basically trashed so badly after the band’s performance that the mayor had it condemned. The various band members had highly varying opinions on how much they liked the mayor.

And then there was the time they started a riot after a concert. I kept asking about what caused it, but everyone said it was someone else’s fault. Except Mick, who just smiled fondly at the memory for some reason. 

There were also a few other incidents that, for legal reasons, I do not feel comfortable relating. Let it be on the record, though, that in my two weeks with this band, I’m pretty sure I saw more mayhem, awful behavior, and grandiose destruction that most music journalists saw in the 1970s and 1980s put together. 

The future of rock is indeed alive and well.

And it’s terrifying. 

And more fun than I’ve ever had in my life.

I’m joining them again for the fall leg of their tour. I hear that already 5 cities have banned the Legends from coming to perform, and I don’t doubt that list will grow by the week. I’ll keep posting with anything I find. In the meantime, this is Nate Heywood, signing off, a very tired and still-recovering (but very happy) music reporter.


End file.
